Wolf in sheep's clothing

Ozias balks, gets called out

"Taken as a whole, the clear language in the Comp Plan tells me that when looking at a hybrid option that contains a road sufficient to handle emergency access and a recreational non-motorized trail we should absolutely be prioritizing investment in the trail portion such that we are maximizing this experience as much as possible." 

-- Commissioner Mark Ozias in an email to a constituent on March 5th, 2024

The “Old” Towne Road (left) was narrow with tight curves before 2023. The “New” Towne Road (right), atop the levee, is much improved, with gentle curves and a much wider surface. (Courtesy Google Earth)

While Commissioner Ozias sat silent during public comment today, an email sent after the weekly meeting revealed that he has no intention of honoring his commitment, and the December 26th resolution unanimously approved by commissioners, to open Towne Road per "Option 2" (a trail beside a two-lane, through road).

In the email, Ozias pivoted to prioritize the levee surface as a trail, allowing for emergency access, and (by default) allowing one landowner required access to their driveway.  Readers will remember this as, Option 4: Pedestrian trail surface & single-use driveway.  In previous county discussions of Option 4, the public would be prevented from entering the single-use driveway by the installation of automatic, electronic, Taxpayer-funded gates.

During today's public comment, a steady stream of history and knowledge overwhelmed a dwindling group of DLTA supporters and Towne Road residents who continue to seek personal gain, private access, and a bucolic life living at the end of a cul-de-sac created by the closure.  Still, a few who are unwilling to accept the trail/road compromise continue to ignore the facts and data that prove completion of the short .6-mile section will do the most to benefit the community and environment.

Speakers, who have spent months studying the data, utilized their three minutes to revisit many crucial points: 

• The superior design of the Towne Road Levee mitigates environmental concerns better than any existing county road, including Ward and Lotzgesell Roads which have absorbed traffic since the closure.

• The reopening of Towne Road has the unanimous support of the Sheriff, Fire Department, CERT (Community Emergency Response Team), and residents living north of the cul-de-sac.

• The county acknowledged as early as 2015 that closing Towne Road would increase emergency response times by 3-7 minutes and that home insurance rates could more than double.

• The project was delayed early and often due to collusion between one commissioner and his special and private interests.

• The fact that Towne Road was created as a road over a century ago, has never stopped being a road, and is still a road.  At least three separate times (the 2015 survey, the 2023 petitions, and the 2023 public comment period) the majority of the public has indicated that an open Towne Road is desired.

Yesterday was the first Towne Road update Commissioner Ozias had attended.  He has been in Washington D.C., Olympia, and Blyn instead of in the commissioners' boardroom providing leadership for his district.  In his absence, the county has moved the project forward, but Ozias has returned and there is no doubt that he plans to stall completion.  

Serving his third four-year term as commissioner, Ozias should be familiar with the Clallam County Comprehensive Code but, as noted in the email below, he is citing the Comp Plan as the basis for his most recent pivot.

Despite all the handwringing, Towne Road is on track for a March 18th "check-in".  County Engineer Donisi will push to solicit surfacing bids on March 26th, but recent developments may push that date into mid-April.  The road is still scheduled to open by the end of this year's construction season.

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From: "Ozias, Mark" <mark.ozias@clallamcountywa.gov>

To: [redacted by CCWD]

Date: 03/05/2024 [redacted by CCWD] PST

Subject: RE: Towne Road

[redacted by CCWD],

I remain committed to a hybrid option.  Emergency vehicle access and community egress options should there be a fire or other mass evacuation event are the primary drivers for the road component and this has been reinforced through months of public comment.

The question is, where both available dollars and design elements are constraints, how do we know where to focus resource when the need for emergency access is a given?  Particularly when the community is divided?

Fortunately the Comprehensive Plan exists specifically to provide this kind of guidance.  Knowing that we would soon be reviewing a plan and working to put the project out to bid, I reviewed the Comp Plan as part of my due diligence – specifically Chapter 31.03 which is the portion of the plan titled “Sequim-Dungeness Regional Plan.”

The Comprehensive Plan does, in fact, provide guidance.  It is filled throughout with language that encourages multimodal transportation systems, encourages additional recreational access and water access (especially to the Dungeness), encourages non-motorized trails, supports roadways that accommodate farming equipment, and notes in section 31.03.465 (2)(c) that “The Dungeness River has been designated as an open space corridor for the benefit of fish, wildlife, flood protection, people and open space.”  Later in this section the Comp Plan even references a nonmotorized trail segment on top of a new dike on the river’s east side.

Beyond this aspirational language, the transportation policies section 31.03.140 notes in section (9)(a) that a high priority on investment and expenditure of limited public funds in the transportation system should be placed in urban growth areas and on arterial development in rural areas.  Since we are looking at allocating more than $1 million in local funds to this project this section is quite relevant.

Taken as a whole, the clear language in the Comp Plan tells me that when looking at a hybrid option that contains a road sufficient to handle emergency access and a recreational non-motorized trail we should absolutely be prioritizing investment in the trail portion such that we are maximizing this experience as much as possible.

I hope that helps to clarify my position.

Sincerely,

Mark Ozias

Clallam County Commissioner